Stetson benefiting from, rooting for Atlantic Sun's FGCU Eagles

Stetson, the last team to defeat Florida Gulf Coast before its record run to the NCAA's Sweet 16, can benefit from the Eagles' "Big Dance" success.

SEAN KERNANSTAFF WRITER

Watching the NCAA tournament from afar can be frustrating for any Division I basketball coach.

But Stetson's Casey Alexander can take comfort in one fact as he follows Atlantic Sun Conference rival Florida Gulf Coast: The Hatters were the last team to beat this year's tourney darling.

Stetson topped FGCU 80-71 in DeLand on Feb. 22 on the strength of 11 3-pointers — six from Joel Naburgs — in a career-best 27-point effort.

Since then, the team from FGC Who? has won seven straight, including three to claim the A-Sun tourney and automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. The high-flying Eagles have put the Madness into March by becoming the first 15 seed to make the Sweet 16.

Next up for FGCU (26-10) is third-seeded Florida (28-7) at 10:07 p.m. Friday in the South Regional semifinals in Arlington, Texas.

The Eagles did their above-the-rim act in defeating San Diego State on Sunday night. Aztecs coach Steve Fisher was so shellshocked after the loss that he mistakenly referred to Florida Gulf Coast as Florida State.

Two days earlier, Georgetown's John Thompson III also learned the hard way what Alexander and the rest of the A-Sun coaches already knew: The Eagles have a bunch of dunkers.

“That is definitely their style,” Alexander said Tuesday while talking about FGCU's fast-paced, dunk-loving offense.

Keep in mind that the Eagles reserve a section of their pregame notes for a “dunk-o-meter” to track their throwdowns.

“Anybody who follows our league would say clearly that they have the most talent,” Alexander said. “But talent, as we all know, doesn't always get you where you want to go.”

The Hatters were on the wrong side of a 96-65 drubbing to FGCU early in conference play. The Hats were introduced to “Dunk City” long before Sherwood Brown told the nation his team's nickname for Fort Myers.

“When they get those dunks, it gives them confidence,” said Adam Pegg, the Hatters' 6-foot-9, 260-pound senior center. “The way they play, you can't defend them in the traditional way because they have so many guys who can jump up to the rim, and they do such a good job of finding lanes and taking it to the rim.

"That's their style. They get themselves going by doing all the flashy stuff.”

Pegg is pulling for the Eagles. He said they're a bunch of good guys who love playing basketball, and he got to know FGCU coach Andy Enfield when Pegg was being recruited out of Clearwater High. Enfield, whom Pegg described as “a good coach and even better person,” was an assistant at Florida State at the time.

FGCU's success stands to benefit the A-Sun, which has an initiative to improve its basketball programs. Nothing does more for that goal than to win in the “Big Dance,” as the Eagles have done in record fashion.

“Obviously, I'd rather be in their situation. Who wouldn't?" Pegg said. "They're doing a great job of representing the conference, putting our conference on the map. A lot of people, before (FGCU) made this run, would have thought that our conference was a bit of a joke.

"They're showing the Atlantic Sun is a pretty good conference to play in.”

Mercer, the league's regular-season champion, also did its part with a first-round win in the NIT at second-seeded Tennessee. Whenever the A-Sun beats the SEC in anything, that's news.

Now, Enfield's Eagles get to take on Billy Donovan's Gators at Cowboys Stadium. Alexander laughed at the suggestion that maybe Donovan or one of his assistants should give him a call to find out how the Hatters beat the Eagles last month.

“I'd say a guy who has won two national championships in the last decade can figure that out on his own,” Alexander quipped.

FGCU, which only became eligible for Division I postseason play last season, has taken the college basketball world by storm, and Alexander is more than happy to reap some benefit. The A-Sun is being talked up, and every game FGCU wins means more money in the conference kitty to divide among member institutions.

“They're the story of the day, no doubt about that,” said Alexander, Stetson's second-year coach, who guided the Hatters to a 15-16 record (11-7 in the A-Sun) this season. “I think we're all going to benefit from it in some way or another, even if it's only through exposure.”

Case in point was Tuesday's media interviews for Alexander. In addition to The News-Journal, the head Hatter also was sought out by reporters from two of the biggest newspapers in the country.

“I'd say every guy in our league has heard from media in the last couple of days wanting to talk more about the Atlantic Sun and how it affects our teams,” Alexander said. “I've talked to The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, and I think it's safe to say that neither one of those calls would have come had Florida Gulf Coast not won their games.

“I'd rather be playing, but at least people are talking about Stetson for some reason as opposed to not talking about us at all.”

Stetson even got a mention from ESPN analyst Bill Walton on Monday night during the Brigham Young-Mercer NIT game, while the A-Sun regular-season standings were shown on screen.

So when the Eagles take on the Gators on Friday night, Alexander will be pulling for another A-Sun upset.

“It's hard to genuinely pull for people you compete against, but at the end of the day, it's better for everybody,” said Alexander, who said he sent out a congratulatory message on Twitter to Enfield after the Eagles' latest victory.